Share this:

After spending his first six seasons as one of the 49ers’ few pass-catching threats, Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis is thrilled to have company this season.

On Sunday, Davis found himself racing alone down the middle on a 29-yard, third-quarter reception in San Francisco’s 30-22 win at Green Bay.

How did he get so open? Wide receiver Randy Moss, who had been lined up on the opposite side of Davis, had run a deep post to help clear out the middle.

Davis said the additions of Moss and another speedy wideout, Mario Manningam, would allow him to find more wide open spaces this season.

“What that does is allows the attention to go away from me and toward them,” Davis said. “So that’s a good thing. It’s a blessing to be able to have Randy come in here and be able to contribute and help us right away.”

On Sunday, Moss, Manningham and Michael Crabtree accounted for 15 catches, 152 yards and a touchdown.

Niners wide receivers hadn’t combined for 15 catches in any of their previous 29 games (including playoffs), a streak during which wideouts averaged 7.9 catches and never had more than 12.

Backup long snapper? The misadventures of Raiders backup long snapper Travis Goethel in Oakland’s 22-14 loss to the Chargers on Monday night prompted a question: Who is the 49ers’ backup long snapper?

On KNBR, Jim Harbaugh said backup center Daniel Kilgore was the second-stringer behind two-time Pro Bowler Brian Jennings, who has played in 193 consecutive games. Harbaugh noted the difficulty of having two highly skilled long snappers given the constraints of a 53-man roster. That was obvious when Goethel rolled two snaps back to punter Shane Lechler, who also had another punt blocked after Goethel replaced injured starter Jon Condo.

“That’s a tough situation,” Harbaugh said. “And you hope you don’t get in that situation. You just hope that they can get the ball back. But then there’s other complications because those protection schemes can be intricate.”

The 49ers are more prepared than the Raiders were on Monday night, however.

Punter Andy Lee said he takes between four to eight snaps from Kilgore each practice. After Monday’s game, Lechler said was asked how much Goethel practiced at the position: “Zero,” he said.

Said Lee: “All I ask of (Kilgore) is: throw the ball, let me catch it and we’ll do our best.”

Akers’ miracle kick: The football that David Akers kicked for a NFL-record-tying 63-yard field goal against the Packers was in the 49ers’ locker room Tuesday, but it will be sent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, later this week.

In the kick’s aftermath, Akers has referred to it as a “miracle.” He didn’t hit it cleanly and it hit the crossbar before improbably bounding through the uprights. Akers has seen his wide-eyed reaction to his big boot several times since Sunday.

“I thought it was amazing,” Akers said. “Again, you hit it and you don’t think you hit it well enough, then it hits the crossbar. I’m like, ‘All right, that’s going to be great, you have 63 and you came up an inch short,’ and then it was the opposite and it went in. That’s why I keep saying for me it was my own little miracle to be able to hit that.”

Handshake talk: Asked about last year’s controversial postgame handshake between Harbaugh and Lions coach Jim Schwartz, Davis said it wouldn’t be a talking point in the days before the 49ers host Detroit on Sunday night.

Last year, however, Davis said the incident left a positive mark.

“It definitely made me fired up for the next game,” Davis said. “It was like, ‘We got Harbaugh going crazy like this? Oh, yeah, I’m all for him.”

Lee injured: Lee was sporting a splint to support his right thumb after he was injured attempting to tackle Green Bay’s Randall Cobb on a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Lee, who is the holder on field goals and extra points, didn’t expect the injury to keep him out of Sunday’s game. “No,” he said. “Not in my mind.”